Otokar has submitted its proposal for the serial production of the Altay main battle tank (MBT) to the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), the company announced on 20 November.

The proposal was submitted for Turkey's ‘Modern Tank Production Project by using National Sources’ initiative. The SSM released the call to bid document for Altay's serial production work and integrated logistics support services in July.

Otokar was selected as the prime contractor for the Altay's design, prototyping and qualification phase in 2008. The qualification and acceptance tests of the prototypes produced in the first phase were successfully completed, with prototypes approved in February 2017.

The inspection and approval process of the Technical Data Package by the SSM is ongoing.

The Atlay MBT is designed and developed to meet the requirements of the Turkish land forces against present and future threats. The MBT has delivered strong performance in challenging tests conducted in all climatic and terrain conditions for the last two years. According to the company, Altay has achieved high accuracy in firing tests carried out for diverse scenarios in all kinds of climate conditions and distances.

Otokar has planned production lines to be prepared to launch production as early as possible, and has obtained the necessary manufacturing permit from the Ministry of Defence.

Serdar Görgüç, general manager, Otokar, said: ‘We successfully designed and developed Altay, the national MBT for which we were the main contractor in Phase 1. With the investments we made in this process, the experience we gained, and enhanced R&D capabilities, Otokar captured a strategic momentum in its position in the defence industry.

'As Turkey's leading land defence systems company, with all the competencies required for the producing Altay, and strengthening the national defence industry's capabilities, we are up for the task. Our wish is for the MBT Altay to start serving the Turkish armed forces as early as possible.'